| Submit your comments on this article | |
| Iraq | |
| Iraqi Commander for Baghdad Mission not First Choice | |
| 2007-01-14 | |
On Wednesday, Iraqi military officials said al-Maliki had chosen Lt. Gen. Abboud Gambar a week ago as commander of the new security plan in the capital, where sectarian bloodshed built to a crescendo at the end of last year, with more than 100 people killed on many days. On Saturday, three Iraqi generals, who spoke on condition of anonymity because Gambar's appointment had not been publicly confirmed, said al-Maliki's first choice - Lt. Gen. Mohan al-Freiji - had been vetoed by American officials. The U.S. military did not respond to an AP e-mail asking for verification of the dispute. The army generals who spoke to AP said al-Maliki appointed Gambar a week ago when he told the nation that a new security plan was to be launched within days, but the prime minister has refused to confirm the appointment. The generals said al-Freiji and Gambar topped the list of candidates to run the drive. The generals said Gambar, a Shiite veteran of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war and the 1991 Gulf war, would have two deputies, a Shiite and a Sunni, one on each side of the Tigris River that curls through the center of Baghdad. During the 1991 Gulf War, one of the generals said, Gambar was captured by U.S. troops on the Kuwaiti island of Fialaka and briefly held prisoner in Saudi Arabia. Under Saddam Hussein's rule, military men normally were fired if taken prisoner, but the former president made an exception for Gambar and his brigade because of their brave defense of Fialaka Island. Gambar, in his early 60s, was decorated by Saddam. Gambar will report directly to al-Maliki. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 Better headline would be Iraqi Commander of Baghdad mission not first choice of abu Maliki. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2007-01-14 10:11 |